In a Wonderland
by MrsMoonshine
Summary: When Alice tumbles into Narnia, she struggles desperately to find a way back to her real life. But what will happen when the fantasy world becomes the place she wants to be? ED/OC
1. Chapter 1

In a Wonderland

**Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia or anything written by C.S. Lewis. I did however create Alice, Mila and her parents. They are mine. **

"ALI, ALI CAN YOU READ ME A STORY?!"

Squealing in excitement, Mila thrust the book into her older sister's hands before she'd even got through the door. At eighteen Alice Riley had long overgrown the ritual of a bed-time story but this was not for her. It was for Mila. Well that was what she told herself but grasping her old, tattered copy of Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, she found herself wanting to read it again - for the two hundredth time.

"Alright munchkin, but I have college in the morning so just for a bit,"

"Hey," Mila said indignantly, "I'm not a munchkin, I'm nearly five!"

"You only turned four a week ago."

"Yeah but four is next to five **and** Mum says I'm her big girl because I'm leaving nursery soon to start Primary School."

"Ok then 'oh wise one' go and get into bed and I'll come up."

Mila scuttled up the steps on her hands and feet. Finally alone, Alice sighed before taking off her coat and shoes, placing them in the cupboard underneath the stairs. Looking around the dingy space she imagined a young Harry sat in a place very similar, not knowing how special he really was. Alice had often sat in there when she was younger wishing to find out she had magic so she could attend Hogwarts. Alas, that day never came.

"ALICE RILEY!"

Caught in thought about magic, Alice jumped in fright. After hitting her head on the hard, wooden door, she turned to see her Mum. There hands on hips, apron tied and with messy brown hair in a loose bun, stood a very angry woman. Alice braced herself for the lecture that was soon to come.

"Where on Earth have you been? Just because you're eighteen does not mean you can just come and go as you please without informing me. Two days you've been gone- **two days**! Not even a phone call or a text. Anything could have happened to you. Anything! Even Mila started to wonder where you were," seeing the look on her daughters face, she relented, "I know you're older so you're allowed freedom but it was very irresponsible of you not to even get in touch. I've been worried sick."

Alice winced at her mother's monologue. She had wondered if going to Alton Towers with her best friend was a good idea when she was supposedly revising for her A Levels. But it was her last time to hang out with Bethany before they both went to separate universities. She regretted nothing but now she just had to work on placating her Mum.

"I know and I'm sorry. It was just a last minute thing. You shouldn't worry about me anyway, that's the beauty of having a mature independent child. I give you my word as a lady that I will not die without letting you know beforehand," she stopped upon seeing an unamused look on her Mum's face. "Joking aside, I needed a break. I can't study for every waking moment of my life you know, it would make me suicidal."

"Stop being melodramatic and make sure you revise something before Wednesday. I don't want you failing. York University won't let you in if you don't get that 'A' in Physics."

"Urghhh" Alice moaned remembering how much work she still had to do. Turning around she closed the cupboard door and grabbed her book from the coffee table.

"Well I'm off to be an outstanding older sibling and read my little sister a bed time story."

"You. Are reading. To Mila?" her Mum repeated in disbelief.

"Yes I am. It's not that hard to believe, I'm incredibly self sacrificing."

Her mother scoffed.

"I AM," she insisted, "and the munchkin loves me."

"I AM NOT A MUNCHKIN!" hollered Mila. She was sat at the top of the stairs, in her My Little Pony pyjamas, sticking her head through the banister.

"Hey, get into bed you." Reprimanded Alice.

"Well hurry up then, I want you to read!" She moved from her spot on the landing and hurried back to her bedroom.

Turning to her Mum Alice chirped, "Goodnight, mother dear."

Rolling her eyes she replied, "I'll see you in the morning Alice. Don't forget we're going to see your Grandma tomorrow so I'll pick you up from Bethany's at around five o'clock."

"Okay," she called although she was already bounding up the stairs. She went into Mila's bedroom and shielded her eyes. The abundance of pink was assaulting her senses; it was everywhere. As a child Alice hadn't really been into the princess and doll phase that her sister was now infatuated with, she had been infatuated with Doctor Who. When little girls had wanted to wear ball gowns and marry a prince, she had wanted to fight aliens and travel with a nine hundred and eight year old Time Lord.

Time had changed her perspective of the tales that had filled her childhood. Although she liked to believe in the stories of Doctor Who and Harry Potter, she now knew that they were just stories so no matter how hard she wished, they would never come true.

She sat in the patterned arm chair near Mila's bed, the fairy lampshade behind her giving off a pink glow which highlighted the page, "Okay, so where should we start? At the beginning?"

"No!" Mila protested, "Mum already read the start. She got up to the part when they were watching the sports thing on brooms."

"Quidditch?"

"YEAH! Start from that bit Ali." She snuggled under the quilt but pulled on Alice's arm to let her see the pages.

So Alice read for an hour, her voice getting sore after the first thirty minutes because of all the accents she was putting on. Her impression of Hagrid was legendary. Mila was really enthusiastic at first, wanting to look at all the words but as time went on the four year-old's head started to droop. She ended up asleep with her neck bent at an uncomfortable angle.

It took Alice a few minutes to realise that Mila was not awake because she was so engrossed in the book. She placed the paperback on the bedside table and turned to her sister. She looks so much cuter when she can't talk thought Alice, carefully manoeuvring her into a more comfortable position.

Although she liked to deny it, the two sisters did look remarkably similar. They had the same rosy cheeks, blue eyes and small mouth. The one noticeable contrast however was that Mila was blonde but Alice was a brunette. They had both gotten their appearance from their mother but Mila had inherited their Dad's hair colour.

Turning off the lamp Alice made her way to her own room. She quickly got changed into her pyjamas and closed her curtains allowing darkness to consume the room. It was always a challenge trying to dodge all the clutter that adorned her floor. Cleaning was not Alice's strong point. Managing only to stand on a few items of clothes, she clambered into bed. The crisp covers making her shiver and huddle closer to her blanket. She closed her eyes and fell asleep dreaming of the college work she had yet to complete.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

The incessant ringing made Alice open her eyes long enough to slam on the snooze button…

"Alice," said a voice whilst someone was also shaking her, "Alice it's almost seven, you need to get up."

"I'll get up in a minute," she groaned rolling over and falling back asleep.

Suddenly, the covers were ripped from her and the icy air invaded her body.

"I'm up, I'm up!" she said vaulting upright and searching frantically for her clothes.

"Good, don't go back to sleep," her Mum demanded whilst walking out of the room, "and breakfast is ready downstairs when you want it."

She found a pair of leggings and her old Captain America t-shirt and threw them on. She planned to go jogging today before college. She had often planned to do this before but had never found the drive to leave the warm, cosy house. Vowing today would be different and yanking on an old pair of converse, she found her way to the kitchen.

Surprisingly, sat at the kitchen table was her Dad. She loved her Dad but his work meant she barely even saw him; he worked in Singapore. Even though it was the thing that kept her away from her Dad, she wasn't even completely sure what his job was. Some kind of engineer or something.

"Dad!" she exclaimed hurrying to give him a hug.

"Hey, Pumpkin." He said crushing her from his grip.

"I'm eighteen now Dad, you can't call me 'Pumpkin' anymore. It's demeaning." After saying it, she realised how much she sounded like Mila. What a frightening prospect.

"I've always called you that and I'm not about to stop now. So what's been going on with you since I've been away? No boyfriends I hope." Typical Dad.

"Oh don't worry, Darren and I decided to have an open relationship rather than put labels on it. He's more of a friend with benefits than a boyfriend."

He almost choked on his orange juice.

"Darren?"

"And don't worry about the drugs; I've got down to only taking them once a day. Honestly, you're so predictable! I don't have a boyfriend: don't want one, don't need one. So you can sleep soundly at night knowing the only thing your daughter is doing will be studying for her impending exams."

"Well that's alright then, so long as you're not lying to me."

"Like I would lie to you," she said seriously, "and a boyfriend would just distract me. I can't afford that right now. I've been waiting for this exam for two years and no boy is getting in my way."

"That's my little Astrophysicist," he said fondly ruffling her hair, "have you got college today?"

"Yepp, but I'm going for a jog first."

Her Mum who was doing the dishes turned around in shock.

"You. Going. For a Jog?"

"That's the second time in two days you've done that, it's very demoralising."

"Well you're just surprising me a lot lately. It's not a bad thing though."

"Right, well I'll be back soon. I'm only going to the woods at the end of the road," she grabbed a piece of toast, "I hope I'll make it though, all that smoking might have damaged my lungs."

She smiled as her Dad gave another splutter and her Mum gave her a disapproving glare. She had planned to take her ipod with her to make the exercise more bearable and to break up the monotonous jogging. However, seeing that it had no battery left she decided to take in the scenery. The woods at the end of her road were actually very pretty. Around them were fields and old country lanes and they also overlooked an old Hall that made it seem like she had stepped into a Pride and Prejudice novel. Her ipod was definitely not needed.

Setting off walking it only took her five minutes to get to the entrance to the woods. As she started jogging, she wondered why she didn't do this more often. Although she was slightly out of shape and stopping every few minutes, the exercise was incredibly relaxing. Early morning meant no one was around, the scenery looked particularly beautiful and the crisp air allowed her not to get too sweaty.

Twenty minutes later and about three-quarters of her way around the field, she spotted a man with a dog not far away. Alice immediately turned around and decided she'd just go home. She had just become aware of the fact that she was a young woman on her own in an eerily secluded forest. Didn't that just scream murder? Plus, she was less than ecstatic about dogs. Not a fear per say, more of a disliking.

Another contributing factor for her hasty change of direction was her clothing. Not that she would admit it but dressed in leggings and a top, she wanted as little people to see her as possible. She felt under dressed and didn't like how tight the leggings were.

Making her way back she picked up her pace. If the jog was going to be cut short, she could at least make it more arduous.

She ran through the trees, dodging protruding branches and overgrown bushes that were in her way. Her converse pounded the ground as she approached a rather dense part of the woods. Her lungs were burning and her steps were becoming less pronounced. She continued on. It was just a bit further. Not that far. She glanced over her shoulder to check if the man was still following her.

Then she fell.

It was as if the ground had been removed from underneath her.

She tried to hold onto something, a branch or a bush, but there was nothing to grab.

Her stomach lurched upwards, like she was back on the rides at Alton Towers before she finally hit the ground.

**A.N: So there we have it the end of the first chapter. You guys will have to tell me to keep going or not because I'm not particularly convinced I should. Although, I was proud of this chapter, it took me bloody ages. Honestly you think writings a joy; it's not for me when I'm so meticulous over everything. It gets annoying.**

**Hope you liked it- Mel x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not, repeat do not own anything even related to Narnia.**

**ED'S POV:**

Edmund Pevensie was in a bad mood. More precisely he was cold and bored which just fuelled his bad mood and made him want to turn around and head back to Cair Paravel. He hadn't wanted to get stuck with the task of finding a missing faun in the Great Wood but it wasn't like he had a choice. A few years ago he would have jumped at a chance to go on a mission. That was what he loved most about Narnia- the adventure. However over time living in the Golden Age had lost its appeal. Nothing happened! Sure, there would be odd cases like this that would sound interesting but when he actually found the truth, well let's just say he would be disappointed. No one else seemed to feel the same however. Everyone was enjoying the times of peace and prosperity. Was he wrong for wanting something bad to happen just to get some excitement?

So that's why he was now stuck wandering the Great Forest, not out of interest, but for lack of anything more fitting to do with his time. He had been given the job of taking a group of wolves that could track into the woods to find a faun that had been reported missing. He had tried to get someone else to do it but he had no luck: Peter had been too busy trying to sort out the faulty sword problem they were having with Darius the blacksmith; Susan had been organising the celebrations for the anniversary of the Battle of Beruna and Lucy was being Lucy, she was nursing an injured centaur back to health. He had gathered his necessities for the journey and left.

His boots squelched in the mud as he trudged on. He had already been walking for a day but unfortunately after a good start, the weather had soon taken a turn for the worst. Luck seemed to evade him after that point and the wolves had lost the faun's trail. The Great Forest was not called 'Great' for nothing and he was dreading to think of how long finding one fawn would take.

Persevering on, he kept moving his feet. It seemed as if someone had attached lead to the bottom of his soles. He ended up just dragging his legs through the undergrowth. But his pace never relented. The sooner he found the fawn; the sooner he could go home. He had wanted to spar with Peter for some time now and was hoping he could when he got back. He missed fighting with his brother. No matter who he faced, he never felt as challenged as when he was against Peter. High King Peter however was in high demand these days and they seemed to be spending a lot less time with each other than they used to. Thrashing his older brother once again would be a good pick me up. Lost in his thoughts, he was shocked when a branch that had been pinned back suddenly lurched forwards and smacked him in the stomach.

He clutched at his belly wanting to let out a string of curses but not having enough breath. He looked to the tree that had hit him and was greatly surprised when he heard the tree chuckling.

"You should rest your highness," it instructed turning its leaves to block his path, "you are tired." He was shocked. First at its boldness and secondly that it was even talking to him at all. He took in its appearance. It was the biggest tree in the clearing, standing majestically alone in the centre. The tree's face, placed in the middle of its trunk, was gnarled and worn. Between its voice and appearance he deciphered it was male. The strangely wispy voice it possessed made him feel comforted by the words. Although it had winded him, he could tell his intent was not malicious and he wanted to heed his suggestion.

He was going to mention his annoyance at being hit in the stomach but it turned out the tree was right, he was tired. Too tired to start an argument and that wasn't good. Edmund sighed but turned to face the team of animals that had accompanied him, "We should rest for the night and continue in the morning." They all nodded in agreement at his suggestion and began to set up a camp. He had hoped to find the fawn before tomorrow but clearly that wasn't going to happen.

He turned back to the tree who continued talking, "You will be able to look with new eyes in the morning King Edmund. You never know what you might discover on a fresh day."

"Well, is there any chance I'll find a faun?" he asked sarcastically although he was still hoping for him to say yes. He needed some reassurance that the search wasn't pointless.

"No one can see the future young King, but usually people who deserve what they are looking for find what they seek."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Wishful ears hear hopeful truths."

"I'll take that as a yes as well," he said whilst smiling for the first time in more days than he could count. In honesty he hadn't really understood the riddles the tree seemed to be talking in but they seemed positive. He went to turn away and get to sleep before it was too dark. His team had successfully built a modest shelter to keep them from the rain and managed to get a fire going. They had started cooking some kind of meat but it would be a while before it would be ready and the power he had to stay awake was slipping. He stopped in his tracks realising that he hadn't even found out anything about the tree, "What's your name?"

"Sessile, Sessile Oak."

"Well was hitting me in the face really necessary Sessile?" he asked, genuinely curious about the answer.

"No I should think not, but it was rather amusing don't you think? And it certainly got your attention." This time it was Ed that chuckled. He retreated closer to the fire and curled up in a dry patch under another tree. He stared up at the jet black sky that was bursting with millions of twinkling stars. Edmund Pevensie went to sleep that night with a smile on his face, his bad mood temporarily forgotten in the hope that tomorrow would be better.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open. The sun was shining through the gaps in the trees and hitting him directly in the face. He groaned and rolled over; Edmund was not a morning person. The light was hitting the droplets of rain left on the ground from yesterday and making the grass shine. Most people would have found it beautiful but he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. He surprised himself by using some form of concealed motivation to wrench himself into a sitting position and pull on his boots. As was expected, the others were already awake and packing away the camp, ready to be out searching again. He nodded gratefully as Pholus, a centaur that had agreed to accompany them, handed him a bowl of porridge for breakfast. He slurped it down. He wanted a quick start to the day.

Before they were about to leave, Edmund stopped to say goodbye to Sessile.

"Goodbye young King, I hope you find what you're searching for."

"Thank you for your help. It was great to meet you," and for once he meant it. Edmund wasn't overly fond of many people; he preferred to keep himself to himself. Sessile however had brought out a strangely cheerful side to him that he reserved normally only for his siblings. It was odd; the tree reminded him of a wise, eccentric grandparent.

"And to you as well King Edmund, but if I am correct it will not be goodbye for long." Without allowing Ed time to ask him about the cryptic farewell, the tree had returned to its natural stance and lost all of its human features. It was as if it had been de-personified right before him. To anyone one else it would just appear as any other plant. He was still bewildered as to why it had spoken to him. It was unheard of for their kind to speak to anyone but Lucy. She was normally the only one who had connections with trees; he had never really spoken to one before. If all of them were like Sessile perhaps he should try to speak to them more often. Trees in general though were very stubborn and it took an awful lot of persuasion to even get them to acknowledge your existence. He wondered why this one was different.

"Let's keep going, I have a feeling we should continue this way," he announced to the others who were positioned behind him, ready to be on their way. It was Pholus however who stood forwards to voice his disapproval.

"But your Majesty, the last time the wolves had the scent they were leading us in the other direction. Wouldn't it be wise to stick to their path?"

"But they lost the scent ages ago, for all we know we could be heading the wrong way. Besides, we need to cover as much ground as possible; we could always circle back if we don't find anything and try your way."

"As you wish," Pholus agreed, motioning for a pair of wolves to patrol ahead of the group.

Edmund briskly started walking to keep up with them. He had a feeling he'd find the faun straight away. He could just sense it.

One hour passed.

Two hours passed.

Three hours passed.

Five hours had passed and Edmund's hope was slowly but surely dripping away. It was seven o'clock when they set out this morning, it was now nearing midday. There wasn't much more he could take. There was no way you could find one person in all of this forest. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

They had stopped in a clearing and were examining a very basic map of the area. "We've been heading south west for a while now; perhaps we should go a bit further east like the wolves were telling us. We've covered about…" Pholus was trying to navigate a new path for them to take around the dangers of the forest but Edmund just tuned him out. He didn't want to talk about it, he just wanted to walk or go home.

He finally snapped. He flung his pack on the ground and turned to Pholus, "Don't bother! THIS WHOLE THING IS POINTLESS," he stressed, hand gesturing wildly, "We don't have any idea where this faun is and searching the whole forest could take weeks! They've sent us off on this fool's errand and…"

His angry rant trailed off when a loud thump reverberated through the clearing. It couldn't have been more than a few metres away. The wolves started yapping and then bounded off towards the noise without further explanation. Edmund was close behind, leaving his belongings where they lay to sprint through the forest.

**Alice's POV:**

Stumbling to her feet, Alice carefully surveyed her surroundings. The once familiar woods now seemed strange and alien. The ground beneath her feet was springier, the Sun shone a bit brighter and the air smelled fresher. She leaned on a nearby branch for support but immediately retracted her hand when she noticed it was a Willow tree. There were never any willow trees in these woods before, were there? Pivoting on the spot she tried to find the grand hall that was normally always in sight.

It wasn't there.

No man with a dog coming up behind her, no poorly constructed country lane, no farmers' fields. Nothing to even suggest she was in the same place.

Struck by the realisation that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong she stood rooted to the spot. She didn't look around to explore, she didn't try to find a way out or even to go and find help. She just stood. Her brain was frantically trying to come up with a feasible answer as to where she was but anytime she even came up with an idea, logic would stamp it out. This just was not possible. People do not just travel spontaneously to different locations. It isn't conceivable by the laws of physics, right?

She was trying to think back to how she ended up here. She was running, away from scary dog man, and had wandered a little bit from the path. She had turned her head for a split second and everything had been normal. There was the hall in the distance, the normal foresty stuff but then she had fallen. Where can you fall to if you're on flat ground? Still not being able to answer that question, she moved on to the next thing that happened. Alice had found herself collapsed in a heap on the floor. She hadn't passed out, she hadn't feinted, she remembered everything and that's what baffled her. She'd never hit her head so she couldn't blame this weirdness on being concussed.

So stand there she did, going over and over the events that lead her to wherever she was now.

After about an hour of pointless dawdling, Alice finally started to snap herself out of it. She neared a plan. She didn't need to figure out where she was; she just needed to find a way back. Deciding to go and find someone, she started gingerly making her way through the woodland. If they were from here perhaps they knew what was going on.

Just as she had set off, there was a rustling to her right. She jumped a mile in shock. She glared at the bush, ready to fight if anything attacked her- but nothing did. After a tense few minutes and nothing bad had happened, curiosity won out. Cautiously moving towards the noise, she peeled back the branches and was surprised to see what seemed like the back end of a goat.

"A goat? Since when do you get wild goats roaming around in England?" after a pause she continued, "Oh great now I'm talking to myself, isn't that a sign of madness? What do you think Mr Goat, am I crazy?"

"I don't believe you are crazy but I would prefer if you didn't refer to me as 'Mr Goat'."

Alice could do nothing but watch in horror as the 'goat' stood up and revealed its upper torso, "Human… you're part goat, part human." She stuttered trying to drag her eyes away but failing. Perhaps she was crazy.

"I believe that makes me a faun my dear."

"And you speak," she squeaked in disbelief.

"Well I have a mouth, why wouldn't I?" The faun looked at her worriedly, "Is everything quite alright? If you don't mind me saying, you seem a bit out of sorts. I myself am a little bit lost," he turned to face the direction of what he assumed was Cair Paravel, "I only went for a walk and seemed to get a bit muddled. I think I took a right instead of a left. A simple mistake really but I've been wondering about ever since. Don't worry about me though we fauns know how to survive in a forest."

Noticing how quiet she was being he turned to find her not stood before him but rather running back in the direction she came from.

"Dear woman, you should come back. Running in a forest is not a safe thing to do!" he called after her but his warning fell on deaf ears. Alice was running as if her life depended on it, trying to get back to the willow tree near to where she first came from. Safety and logic, that's what she needed not fauns and unwanted trips. She could hear the fawn trotting to catch up with her but she didn't care. The wind blew past her ears as she leaped over the foliage.

This scenario seemed very familiar except last time it was an old man with a dog behind her. Sudden inspiration hit. Recreating what happened the first time, she glanced back and waited to feel the falling sensation. She became alarmed however when she saw the panicked look on the faun's face. He seemed to be shouting something and it took her a while to decipher his words; 'watch out'.

Facing back to the front, she smacked straight into a tree.

Then everything went black.

**A.N: So Alice and Edmund will meet next chapter, what did you guys think? This chapter's a bit longer than the last one to make up for the fact that it took so long to update. I'm sorry for the delay but something shocking happened, literally. So there I was, trying to fix my beautiful new lampshade, that I had just bought that afternoon from BHS, onto an old lamp that I had gotten from a vintage market when I was electrocuted. **

**Yeah, so it turns out it was on. Typical. How stupid can I be?**

**My finger was quite badly burnt and I had to go to A&E. Thank God for the NHS. I'm okay though, I thought if you were electrocuted it would melt your organ or something but I seem to be alive. For now anyway. So my apologies for the late chapter but between my finger hurting when I typed and the fact that I was scared of any electrical appliance for nearly five days, I don't think I did too badly.**

**A word of caution dear readers- DO NOT PLAY WITH VINTAGE LAMPS.**

**Mel-x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia are all the creative property of C. S. Lewis. I only own Alice and any other original character.**

**ED'S POV:**

A girl. Not just any girl, a human girl. One that was dressed in strange tight fitted trousers and lying on the ground. The wolves were assembled around, sniffing and nudging her. He edged closer. She didn't seem to be a danger. She was unconscious for goodness sakes, of course she wasn't dangerous. Nudging ever closer the wolves departed to let him through. He leaned over her examining the large bump on her head. She must have hit her head or perhaps someone had hit her head.

"What should we do sire?" asked Pholus who was waiting patiently behind him.

"Get me a wet cloth for her head. It might ease the swelling or and least get her to regain consciousness," the centaur nodded and headed back to where the King had left his things. The wolves followed.

He leaned in to examine her closer. Where did she come from? She was positioned on her side, almost as if she had just fallen asleep. What struck him most were her clothes. They were made of such unusual materials that he was certain she didn't belong here. There was the chance that she was from a different part of Narnia, someplace they hadn't discovered yet but that seemed unlikely. Could she be from Earth, another daughter of Eve that just appeared here? Even on Earth her attire would still be unusual.

Her eyes suddenly shot open.

She took one glance at him and bolted upright. Edward, who was caught off guard, didn't think to move away in time and their heads collided. This elicited a groan of pain from the girl as she fell back onto her back and gently clutched her injured forehead. Edward however shrank backwards, biting down on his lip trying not to swear. His nose was bleeding and he was in a lot of pain.

"Ow!"

"Oh, sorry." She genuinely apologised, "I didn't mean to do that, you just scared me that was all. Do you need anything for it?"

"Just leave it," he snapped, "I think you've broken my nose!"

She fixed her gaze on him now on the defensive, "I didn't do it on purpose!" She pushed herself up so she wouldn't feel quite as vulnerable.

"I never said you did!"

"Well, why on Earth would you lean over me like that anyway?! The last thing I needed was another knock on the head!" She collapsed onto her back, not able to maintain her sitting position because of the dizziness that was overcoming her. This didn't stop her rant, "Now I have two injuries! Injur**ies**," she stressed, "plural, honestly."

"You're blaming me for this?" he asked in disbelief, "You've broken my nose!"

"Yes I am blaming this on you because it was mostly your fault. I was **unconscious**, of course I would be startled if I woke up and some random man was invading my personal space."

Edmund huffed but didn't protest. He covered his nose with his hand and tilted his head backwards to stop the bleeding. They were quiet for a few minutes, both looking over their wounds.

"What happened anyway?" she asked in a small voice, "How did you find me?"

"We heard a noise," he said, "came to investigate."

"Oh, well I suppose I should thank you then, for coming to help me when you could have just left."

He nodded but didn't say anything else and an uncomfortable silence once again descended on the pair.

"What happened to you?" he questioned, trying to lift the tension.

"Funny story really, I don't actually know. I was jogging through the woods and then all of a sudden I landed in a different place. I know it may sound strange, but that's what happened or at least what I think did. Next thing I know, I was taking to a faun."

She let out a soft laugh while still looking at him, "I know, crazy right? Half man, half goat. I must have hit my head harder than I though…" her speech trailed off though when she caught sight of about eight wolves and a centaur appearing with a wet cloth in his hands.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," she scrambled to her feet ignoring the throbbing in her temple. She backed away but jolted when her back hit a tree trunk, "I'm completely bonkers," she whispered running a hand through her hair.

"Your nose King Edmund," said Pholus in concern, stepping forward and handing him the cloth, "is the girl dangerous?"

For the first time Alice took in his strangely grand clothes, "Of course he's a King," she laughed, "Why wouldn't he be, because this place just isn't weird enough? So I'm imaging centaurs, fauns and kings, what next, the wolves can talk?"

The wolves looked between each other anxiously before growling, "Your majesty is the daughter of Eve alright? She seems a bit distraught."

"Perfect," she breathed leaning back so the tree would support her. Edmund was still currently running through what she had said. She obviously wasn't from Narnia but more importantly, she had seen the faun. All he needed to know now was what had happened to him. That was easier said than done.

"You mentioned a faun; do you have any idea where he went?"

"The faun? Do you mean before or after I was running for my life?"

"Why were you running for your life!?"

"Well I'd just met a mythical creature; I didn't stop to ask about his intentions!"

"It's not like he was dangerous."

"How was I supposed to know that?" she asked exasperated.

"Ok, ok." He relented, not wanting to start an argument, "What did he do after you ran?"

"He followed me but before you ask," she cut him off; "I have no idea where he is now. After the running was when I head planted a tree so I'm sorry if I can't be of much use to you."

"Right split up, he can't have gotten far. I want everywhere in the vicinity searched, no exceptions." The wolves quickly got to work, scouring in a circle around the area. Pholus approached Edmund with a worried look on his face. Edmund knew why he was concerned because he was thinking the same thing. Why is she in Narnia and more importantly what should they do with her now she's here? He couldn't just leave her in the forest, no, that would be cruel. On the other hand he still didn't trust her enough to bring her back to Cair Paravel. Not yet anyway.

He looked across at her. She had lost her previous alarmed disposition and was calmly taking in her surroundings. She looked like a child who had just been told Christmas was coming early. Running her hands over anything she could find and her eyes shone with wonder. He remembered the sense of awe he felt when he first came here and the person he first met. Perhaps she was right to not trust on face value like he had. People aren't always what they seem.

"So 'King Edmund'," she said using air quotes, "I think now would be a good time for answers, don't you?" Her tone had given up its harsh quality and adopted a more teasing one. She seemed a lot more at ease now the wolves had gone. Maybe she had been scared of them. He hadn't even considered how intimidated she must have been; one girl surrounded by at least ten wolves.

"A good a time as any," he agreed, still studying her as she moved around the clearing.

"So I landed here," she gestured around her, "wherever this is when I was running. Let's try to make some sense out of this. Right, I looked behind me but then I fell. Where could I fall down in a wood? A hole? Some kind of animal's burrow or sett?" She sighed softly, "I still don't understand why this is happening to me, I'm just me, Alice Riley, college student…" her speech trailed off and her eyes grew wide.

"Wait a minute, Alice, my name is Alice. I fell down a hole, a rabbit hole. Weird things are happening," she deduced, "that all points to one thing. Am I in Wonderland?"

He couldn't take her seriously. She thought she was in Wonderland and to make things worse the look on her face had been priceless. "Hold on," he teased her, "I'll just go and get the white rabbit and the mad hatter so we can have a tea party."

At hearing his amused jab the hopeful look on her face fell, "I'll take that as a no," she muttered her hands falling from the tree they were resting on, "Well where am I then?"

He looked at her seriously to assure her he was telling the truth, "You're in Narnia," he said simply. Edmund wasn't sure how she would take this news but what he didn't count on was her laughing. She doubled over struggling to breathe and tears flowed from her eyes.

"Good one." Her laughter stopped dead however when she noticed the serious expression he was holding didn't leave. "Oh, you're serious. Wow. So Narnia then." She said sceptically.

"Narnia is a land filled with Mythical Creatures and…"

"Yeah, I know what Narnia is."

"You do?"

"Of course, who hasn't heard of Narnia? Oh, I get it now – Edmund." She mulled over the name, "As in Lucy, Peter and who's the other one again? I'm sure her name begins with 'S'."

"Susan."

"Yeah that's it."

"But, but how?" he stuttered.

"How what? How do I know? You don't know about the… You know what never mind."

Edmund was entirely curious as to what she was about to say but decided to pursue the matter any further. Any further conversation was stopped when the wolves reappeared from their search. Much to his dismay there was no faun with them.

"There was no one in the area, your majesty."

So now he was going to have to make his way back to Cair Paravel minus a faun but plus an extremely confused girl whom he was now accountable for.


End file.
